Choking on small toys or toy parts has long been identified as a common cause of early childhood injury and fatality. In response to this threat to children's safety, the Federal Consumer Products Safety Commission (hereafter FCPSC), through its regulations, specified minimum sizes for separate or separable parts of toys which are intended for children's use. FCPSC's theory was that young children could be expected to put toys in their mouths and they were less likely to choke on large than on small toy parts.
By contrast, it has been found that children, as well as adults, are more likely to choke on large food items than on small food items. Hot dogs, and other similarly shaped food products, have been identified as a primary source of food involved in the death and injury of small children and others who have choked on their food. For example, a 1980 study of causes of childhood choking deaths in Maryland over the period from 1970 to 1978 disclosed that of twelve childhood deaths caused by choking on food, six involved hot dogs.
The present invention resulted from the identification of the cause of such choking problems, that is: young children who are eager to eat adult food and through lack of teeth, over-excitement, upset or various other reasons, bite off and attempt to swallow a large piece of a hot dog before adequately chewing it, thereby running the risk of aspirating and thereby choking on a large hot dog piece.